Diane King

The Tory lead over Labour has been slashed by 16 points in a month, according to a new opinion poll which suggests the election race is neck and neck.

The Survation poll for Good Morning Britain put the Tories on 41.5% with Labour on 40.4%.

The Conservatives had a 17-point lead with the pollster at the start of May, but Labour’s rise reflected a campaign which more than half of those polled thought had been better than Theresa May’s.

The latest poll put the Liberal Democrats on 6% and Ukip on 3%.

Half of those surveyed thought Mrs May would make a better prime minister than Jeremy Corbyn, but his personal credibility has increased 15 points to 36% since the first Survation/GMB poll on May 5-6. Mrs May’s rating has dropped 10 points over the same period.

Some 51% of respondents thought Labour has had the best campaign - including 30% of Tory voters - while just 23% thought Mrs May’s party had performed better.